When I was a kid, my Mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work. On that evening so long ago, my Mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! All my dad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at my Mom and ask me how my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that ugly burned biscuit. He ate every bite of that thing...never made a face nor uttered a word about it!

When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my Mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I'll never forget what he said, "Honey, I love burned biscuits every now and then."

Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, "Your Mom put in a hard day at work today and she's real tired. And besides--a little burned biscuit never hurt anyone!" As I've grown older, I've thought about that many times. Life is full of imperfect things and imperfect people.I'm not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like everyone else. But what I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each other's faults and choosing to celebrate each other’s differences is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.

And that's my prayer for you today...that you will learn to take the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your life and lay them at the feet of God. Because in the end, He's the only One who will be able to give you a relationship where a burnt biscuit isn't a deal-breaker!

We could extend this to any relationship. In fact, understanding is the base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or friendship!

"Don't put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket--keep it in your own." So, please pass me a biscuit, and yes, the burned one will do just fine.And PLEASE pass this along to someone who has enriched your life--I just did!Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle. "Life without God is like an unsharpened pencil--it has no point"

Replies to This Discussion

"learning to accept each other's faults and choosing to celebrate each other’s differences is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship."

v

"Because in the end, He's the only One who will be able to give you a relationship where a burnt biscuit isn't a deal-breaker!"

So great are our personal relationships that they somehow don't compare to the one we can have with god. Sounds like somebody forgot the point they were trying to make halfway through the letter. Not uncommon at all. To some people, everything has to have a connection to god, jesus, whatever. Even when there's no reason to bring it up, it somehow gets injected into a conversation. My in-laws are that way. They've somehow managed to tone it down as of late. Probably started getting obvious that it wasn't being well received when all they got for their efforts was an awkward silence.

The "a little burned biscuit never hurt anyone!" part is a little bit inconsistent. It is supposedly a key component in making relationships work yet at the same time ONLY god will love you if you're less than perfect.

uh-huh. More examples of people who yearn for the unattainable, even if they have to resort to imaginary scenarios and deities to get there. Sadomasochism, it's what's for breakfast.

One of the most refreshing things about the relationship I have with my wife is that we are OPEN with each other. We are tolerant of each others' quirks and peculiarities, and if something isn't right, one of us will point it out to the other, though I have to say, that doesn't happen very often. Positive feedback is offered often (usually avec smooches!) and negative feedback given gently and without rancor. Neither of us lay ANYTHING at the feet of any god, because neither of us subscribe to such a belief and such a practice would not help if we did use it. What we have is US, and we both recognize that WE are the ones who are going to make this relationship work. No god is available to ameliorate a problem or soothe hurt feelings. If we don't do the work, the work doesn't get done.

As for that last comment about life without god, I had my own run-in with that phrase some time ago and documented my reaction to it here. I didn't like that bullshit back then and I like it even less now.

regarding life without god, it bothers me too. i think it pisses off all atheists. my mom knows my beliefs full well but she's not gonna stop trying. i get an email about god pretty much every week. i don't let it bother me b/c i know it's b/c she cares. still, some of them really get my goat.

I actually liked that story up to the point she mentioned God. The story is cute and has an equally secular application (don't nitpick at peoples' small imperfections or mistakes because we're human and they happen, and it's not worth causing tension in a relationship over - try to understand their position). But as soon as she stuck God into it, I was like 'nope'. I find that these sorts of understandings in relationship have literally nothing at all to do with any deity or religion at all. This is simply something people (as human beings) should learn - to be more patient with one another.